favarg-er



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. PAVARGER. GUARD GORDON FOR THE PROTECTION OF saws.

No. 391,362 Patented Oct. 16, 1888.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

T.PAVARGER. I GUARD GORDON FOR THE PROTECTION OF SHIPS.

Patented Oct. 16, 1888.

fw M 6 (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet a;

T. FAVARGER. GUARD GORDON FOR THE PROTECTION OF SHIPS.

P10391662 I Patented Oct. 16, 1888.

THEODOR F: VARGEB, OF PARIS, FR

FHCEQ' Arena ANCE, ASSIGNOR TO THE HOTCHKISS ORDNANCE COMPANY, '(h lllllTEDfl OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

GUARD-CORDON FOR THE PROTECTION OF SHIPS.

$PECIECLCA$IDN formingpart of Letters P Application filed May 27, 1887, Serial No 9,522. (X model. March l, 1537. No. 181,881; in Germany March 13, 1887.1). 27, isn't, No. 1,135; in ltnlyMny 7,1887, XLTT, 3-25 llungary October 26, 1887, N

atent No. 391,362, dated October 16, 1888.

) Patented in England February J8, 18:7, No, 3,058; in France 41,410; in Sweden March 2d, 1887, K0,],0Jfi; in Portugal April in Spain hlay 7, 1887, No. (L819; in India dune I l. 188?,No, 774; in Austiia- 0. 2,198 and No. 37, and in Norw ayOctober 20, 18: 7, No. 550.

To aZZ 2071,0711 it may concern;

Be it known that I, Tnnonon FAVARGER, engineer, of2l Rue Royale, Paris, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 5 in Guard-Cordonsjior the Protection of Ships and Harborswhich have been patented in the following countries, namely: France, Marclnl, 1887, No. 181,881; England,Fcbruary 28, 1887, No. 3,058; Germany, March 13, 1887, N0.

[0' -11All);Austria-Hungary,October26, 1887, No. 2,198/3'7; Italy, May 7, 1887, N0. 325, Vol. 42; Spain, May 7, 1887, No. 6,819; Sweden, March 21;, 1887, No, 1,056; Norway, October 26, 1887, N0. 556; Portugal, April 27, 1887, No. 1,138;

15 India, June 14, 1887, No. 774; and l, the said Ylnnonon Fain-inane, do hereby declare the nature ofthc said invention and in what mannor the same is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement thcreot-that is to say:

The object of this invention is the protection of vessels ofavar, or" anchorages, and open roadstcads from the attacks of torpedo-boats, war-ships, and other floating means of offense by giving notice of their approach and oftheir position at night, as well as in foggy wca thor. For this purpose 1 establish a cordon made up of convenient lengths of alight strong rope or wire, to which are attached floats for the purpose of buoying the entire length of the same either at or below the surface of the water-,and in such a manner that the said lengths may be properly laid out iu'position for use, as well as also wound promptly upon a reel for as storage when not in use. The ends of these lengths of rope or wire :trcilitted with clamps or shackles, whereby they may be quickly and securely fii.stenc .l, either to other lengths or to buoys or anchorages. At the junction of o these lengths of ropes small buoys are attached by shackling or otherwisc,and these buoys are anchored in position by suitable cables and anchors, by means of which the desired or requisite circuit of the cordon is maintained.

These buoys are made of a suitable metal, and hey are divided internally into compartments or chambers arranged to serve the following purposes: first, to regulate and maintain their buoyancy; second, to contain inflammable materiuls intended to light the buoy itself when any part of the cordon is contracted by floating engines of attack; and, third, to contain detachable flasks or floats, which are with drawn therefrom under circumstances similar to those above mentioned without disturbing the anchored position of the buoy itself, and which flasks contain inflammable material, which ignites on their disconnection from the buoy, and for this purpose the ends of the lengths forming the cordonare attached by means of links or bridles to the said flasks in such a manner that, when by the effect of the pressure exerted on the e on by the attacking body the ends become released from the buoys, they still maintain their connection with the flasks, which are thereby withdrawn entirely from the buoys and towed by the attacking body. Each flask contains a tiring ap paratus, which, on its withdrawal, ignites the inflammable material contained in the buoys, and thus marks the position of the attacking body as the flaming-flasks are being towed along by thc'nttaching vessel, and in order to insure the buoyancy of these flasks when dotached from their respective buoys they are provided with abag of suitable matcriahwhich is extended and inflated by the gases generated by the inflammable material during its combustion,audtl1cy are thus prevented from being drawn under water.

in order that my said invention be clearly understood, 1' will describe the same in detail conjointly with the sixteen figures of the accompanying drawings, of which-- .Figure l is an illustrative view of. a guardcordon surrounding a vessel which it is intended to protect; Fig. 2, an elevation of a part of the cordon with its floats attached; Fig. 3, a front and a side elevation of a float detached; Fig. 4, an elevation of one end of cordon-wirc with its shacklc; 1 ig. 5, a plan of the same; Fig. 6, a buoy in elevation; Fi 7. an anchor with its cable attachment; Fig. 8, a sectional elevation of the buoy on a larger 'saidflasks with its link.-

. "scale; Fig. 9, a section of same through W,

Fig 8; Fig. 10, a front view of a hammerspring; Fig. 11, asection of the said spring with the hammer attached thereto; Fig. 12, a

5 plan, partially in section, of the connection between the cordo'ns and the buoy; Fig. 13, a planlof one of the detachable flasks; Fig. 1 4,

aseetion of the same through X K, Fig. 8;" Fig-15, a section, d d, thro'ughY Y 11"; and

Fig. 16, a'partial front elevation of one of the In the drawings, a. is the cordon-guard,

which is made up of light galvanized steelwire rope in lengths,;say, of one hundred and ,.pre serv'ative paint. Asingle galvanized-iron wire, d, is carried along one side or on the top of these floats c and ca'ught up or attached to each securing-wire b. By this arrangement the cordon is floated just below the surface of the water, and the. floats are kept in line and position, and when notin use the cordon may be-i'eadily-wound upon a reel or coiled. Each end of each length of wire forming the cordon has a thimble, e, spliced in it, to which is con: nected asmall galvanized-steel clip or shackle, f, and which serve for their attachment either to a buoy or to other lengths of cordon-wire.

g are the snialbbuoys which are secured be tween the consecutive ends of thecordon-wire 'a, and maintained in place by the shackled ends ofthe si id wires, as well as by cast-iron anchors h of the clump or mushroom pattern, to which they are attached by a light rope or wire, 23, oneend of which being spliced to the anchor-ring and the other knotted at the length dersired to a strap, k, fastened to a staple at thsibiottom of the buoy, as shown in Figs. 6 an The entire circuit of the cordon a is made 'upof the above-mentioned lengths of wire,

with buoys g inserted at the junctions of the said lengths andduly anchored, as shown in illustration Fig. 1,with a vessel to be protected occupying theocnter of a circle thus composed,

,. measuring about one thousand yards in diameter and containing aseries of buoys placed at about one hundred and fifty yards apart. These figures are merely given by way of illustrat1on, forin reality the only practical limit for the diameter of such a circle will be such a radius at which the light emitted by such a buoy would be readily visible at night from aboard such protected ship. I

The buoy g is made of Muntz metal plates and conical in shape. It is divided internally into two superposed eharnbers-viz., a lower one, A, containing fi-asks' E, charged with an inflammable material for lighting the buoy, and an upper one, B,filled with cork for the nrpose of maintaining its buoyancy, and in which are likewise formed metaliic cavities or filled with inflam mable materials.

ignites the same,

chambers C, for receiving detachable flasks 1'), 4. This lower chamber, A, contains two earthenware flasks, E E, shaped to its internal conical contour and provided above'with projecting necks that are hermetically sealed. Grooves are cut or formed round the bases of these necks to form planes of weakness, and these flasks are charged with calcium phosphate. Astouflstirrup, d", is

riveted to the point or lower end of the buoy for the purpose of attaching thereto themooring-lines I ent 9 -ends of this 'stirrup there project upward? two "nickel-plated flat steel springs, I],

on theirouter ends,

and opposite to theseham merheads' holes are madein-the wall of the buoy, which holes are covered with disks of thin 1ead,'e, soldered water-tight. A swell or projection, e, is formed at about the middle of the neck of eachearthenware flask E, and it rests against the inner face of the said leadcn disk. If necessary to insure the presence of water in the-lower chamber, A, small holes may be madethrough the walls of said chamwith flexible hinges maybe ather, and covers tached internally oppositeto said holes.

The extremity of each hammer-headed spring I is held or guidedlaterally in jaws I Z, which are bolted outside the buoy and serve forthe blow of the hammer when propelled by the sprin A small ring, 6, is held between the link i and the spring Lin such a manner that as long as it is in place the head of the hammer cannot touch the lead disk 0', and the provided with hammer-heads strength of the spring l'is such that a pull of,

say, one hundred pounds, the ring'away from the jaws and oh the end of the spring Z, whereby the hammer, impelled by the spring, strikes the plate e and breaks the neck of the flask E. To guard against the accidental release of the spring Z and its hammer during the laying and handling of thecordon-guard, a stick of sal-ammoniac or other ,material readily solu'ble'in water,

2, is inserted in andacross the jaws Z Z opposite to a small head raised on the ring o (see Figs. 12 and 8,) which will prevent such accidental release of the spring until such time as the entire cordon is connected and laid, while very shortly afterward the sal-ammoniac is melted out by the water and the apparatus is in a position to fulfill the intended requirements.

When tlieproper strain has been brought IIO on any part of the floating'cordon'guard, the

hammer-head, in'connection with such length of the cordon, is drawn back until the. ring 6" slips away from the jaws l and oft the spring Z, the hammer'of which is thus liberated and projectedforward by the spring Z, and, striking the lead disk 0', breaks the neck of-the flask E inside the buoy, whereby coming in contact with the calcium phosphate and the flaming gases pro;

the sea-water duce And an exit through the vertical tube 0', i

fixed inthc center of .the buoy.

The upper end of the bridle or jointed to the metal flask D, which is housed link i is as a guide is necessary to draw in the chamber 0 of the buoy, which latter is roughly cylindrical and traverses the buoy horizontally. This flask is filled with calcium phosphate, and its face is closed and hernictically sealed by a glass plate, Z, just inside of which is hung a firing-hammer, m, oiian axis, 11, which is set at tension by a spiral spring, 0, passed over one end of the said axis. This end likewise carries a small lever-,1), which projects upward outside the flask and serves for cocking the hammer, and whiclnwhen set, is insortedwvith the flask in a groove, g, made in the wall of the chamber U, and maintains the hammer cocked ready for aetion'on the withdrawal of the tlask from its chamber. 1

A rubber bag, 8, is secured hermeticaly over the inner end of the ilask D, and is closed at its outer end by a metal plate, I, pierced with a small central hole, P, and a small. ho1- low keel, n, is liked to the und r side of the flask.

\Vhen the strain on the cordon a, produced by the attacking vessel, has disconnectedthe ring c from the spring Z, as before explained, the link i will remain connected to the detached end of the cordon and will extract the ilask D from its chamber (3, the lever p is thereby liberated, and consequently the barn nicr m is propelled by the spring 0 and strikes and breaks the glassplatc I, and the calcium phosphate contained in the flask is ignited by the irruption ol' the sea-water, whereby gases are prod need which inflate the bag .3 and issue in the shape of .a flame .through the hole pierced in the back plate, 6. The detached portion of the cordon will naturally be bent around and cling to the attacking vessel, so as to be towed along by it, and this is done the inllatcd bag keeps the flask D from being drawn under water and the flame escaping t'rcely therefrom marks constantly the position of the attacking vessel.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said invention and in What manner the same is performed, I declare that what I claim 1s 1. Thccombination,with thefloatingcordon.

at their upper ends with buoyant material, at

their lower ends with material which ignites by contact with sea-water, and with the vertical passage '0, by which the flame produced by the burning of said material issues from the top of the scribed.

3. The combination,with the cordon, of the buoys detachably connected thereto, the re movable expansible flasks D, carried by said buoys and independently connected to said cordon and containing material which ignites by contact with seawater, substantially as described.

4. The combination,-with the cordon and the buoys containing material which ignites by contact with seawater, of the springs Z, forming a yielding detachable connection between said buoys and the cordon, and the interposed sticks z, of soluble material, for making said connection temporarily rigid, substantially as described.

Innvitness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

hnoy, subs'tantially as de- THEODOR FAVARGER. \Vitnesses:

' EDMOND KELLY,

36 Arc. de Z Opera, Paris. lton'r. M. I-IooPnR. 

